Living on a Prayer
by LadyArn
Summary: Sequel to "It's My Life". Nothing too offensive. Hiro and K are still together, but no relationship is smooth sailing...
1. Chapter 1

**Author note: I promised several reviewers of "It's My Life" that I'd post the fic that accompanies/continues it, so here we are! a few chapters of Kiro - involving fluff, cuteness, and hot guys in a stickysweet situation.  
Warning: Contains a distinct shonen tilt. Dont like? Dont read.  
Pair: Hiro and K  
Disclaimer: If I owned Gravitation, I wouldn't be writing fanfic, I'd be writing the rest of Gravitation EX.**

* * *

Hiro stretched out in bed, smiling as he felt the warmth of a body behind to him. He didn't have to think about who it was, or what they had done together. He'd been sober, and remembered everything, just as his partner would when he woke up.

The guitarist stayed where he was, comfortable with his lover's arms around him.

"K, K," he shook the blond gently, "wake up. It's time for work." K groaned and buried his face in Hiro's back. "Get off me and get up!" The red-head laughed.

"I don't do mornings." Came the muffled reply.

"How about you do me in the mornings?" Hiro asked slyly. K jumped up and pressed Hiro into the mattress with a powerful kiss, moving with a speed Hiro wouldn't have even guessed at a moment ago.

"Gladly!" the American smirked. Hiro slid out from underneath him, out of reach.

"However, you're gonna have to get up earlier than this, because if we're gonna do it in the morning as well, we're gonna be late for work."

"I don't care! I wanna go back to bed!" K whined for the millionth time, as Hiro bundled him into the car.

"How the hell did you cope in the military?" the guitarist sighed. "Surely you had to get up early in the mornings?"

"Yeah," K sighed, dragging his long hair back into a ponytail, "but it's been a long time since I did that much excersise before going to sleep, you know?" Hiro blushed, then punched him lightly on the arm.

"Shut up, asshole!" he laughed, and started the ignition.

By the time they pulled up outside the N-G Records office, K was fully awake, and back to his usual brash, energetic self. Hiro was used to this sort of childlike energy from Shuichi, but K was a different matter. He was hard to control, and tried to grope him twice in the car between parking and getting out.

They went up to the studio, and found it empty. Unusual. Normally, Fujisaki and Sakano were already there, set up and ready to go. Hiro cursed silently – he was stuck in an empty studio with K trying to screw him up the wall at every opportunity. Damn.

"K, lets get this straight, ok?"

"What?" the American had settled in a chair, and was attempting to coax him into his lap.

"I'm all for this, but the others can't know. I'm not…I'm not ready for them all to know I…" he stopped, licking his lips nervously.

"I know." K tugged on his wrist again, and this time Hiro allowed it. "You're the normal one, what with Shindo and Mr Yuki, and Fujisaki and his...tendencies…" Yet another idiot who'd groped him…and still managed to call himself sane, which was actually probably the effect of being Tohma's cousin. "It's alright Hiro, I understand."

"Thanks, K." the guitarist slipped out of his manager's lap, just as the door opened. Fujisaki and Sakano wandered in, discussing the next song release. The producer smiled at them. The keyboardist waved cheerfuly and headed over to his synth, setting up for the rehearsal.

"Tea, anyone?" it wasn't Sakano's place to make tea for them, really, but they all knew that K couldn't do it.

"Nah, I'm good." The American shook his head. Hiro mirrored the movement. He'd snagged a coffee on the way out, and forced one onto K in an attempt to revive him.

"Alright, then." Sakano sat at the table opposite the manager. "You look exhausted, Nakano, are you ok?" Hiro nodded

"Yeah, restless night, that's all." K didn't even smile.

It was a long, tiring day.

Shuichi arrived in tears, saying something about a woman shouting at him in the street, saying he wasn't good enough for Yuki.

"It was just a crazy, over-emotional fan," they reassured him, "nothing to worry about. There are women all over the world who are jealous of you and Yuki. You just found one, that's all."

"For God's sake…" Fujisaki groaned. "If it's not one thing with you two, it's another! Could you not go for just two days without an argument?" The singer started yelling at his band mate, which set off a huge row. It continued until Sakano, tiring of the shouting, called a lunch break. Shuichi vanished.

An hour later, his return was heralded by loud protests. The remaining band members watched the door open, and blinked as Yuki stormed in, with Shuichi tucked neatly under his arm.

"Um…Mr Yuki?"

"Yuki, you son of a bitch, put me down! I don't wanna be here!" Shuichi's arguments were overridden as the writer dropped him to the floor, and pushed him towards the microphone.

"And don't let me see you back home until you're done!" he snapped. "And you!" He turned to K. "Don't let him leave until he's allowed to go home, you hear me? I have work to do!"

Hiro fought laughter. Typical Shuichi…

That evening, Hiro and K drove back to Hiro's apartment in silence. It took a miracle of self-control for them not to do anything until they were safely back at the apartment.

If had been almost agony all day, being so close, but not being able to say or do anything, they couldn't even touch, in case it aroused suspicions – or themselves.

As the front door of the apartment shut, K grabbed Hiro and threw him against the wall. A spark of fear ran down Hiro's spine, as he realised just how strong the American was. It was erased as K kissed him gently. He may be strong, but he would never hurt him…

They collapsed onto the bed, shedding clothes as they went. That was right…K would never hurt Hiro, ever.

* * *

**More to come!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author note: Sorry it took so long, but I finally got more posted!  
Warning: Fluff, and some more adult scenes later, but just a little bit smutty ^^;  
Pair: Hiro and K  
Disclaimer: If I owned Gravitation, would I be writing fafic, or the actual series? Exactly. Don't own, don't sue.  
**

**

* * *

**"Shit!"

Hiro slammed a fist down on the table, the newspaper falling to the table. K picked it up and checked the headline.

"Oh no…" he groaned, slumping into an empty chair. _Bad Luck's Guitarist Caught with Mystery Blonde_. The picture was a shot of Hiro pressed against a wall, kissing someone, who the rest of the N-G employees would instantly be able to pick out as K. The rest of the article went into detail on the many people it could possibly be: a suggestion of a new girlfriend, which was dismissed because he hadn't been seen with a blonde woman lately; the idea of an unknown hooker, quickly forgotten when they pointed out that a nineteen year old musician who had the pick of any woman in the country wouldn't bother to use a prostitute; and a joking mention of his 'attractive blond manager'. Basically, they had no idea who the other person was, but it was a story, so who cares?

They had been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now, but they still hadn't told anyone. Hiro said he still wasn't ready for people to know, so they were keeping it quiet.

"Don't worry so much." The American wrapped an arm around his lover, kissing him gently. "They don't know anything really."

"Good, I just don't want a scandal, like we had with Shuichi and Yuki…" K poured a cup of coffee and set it down in front of the other man.

"Stop it, Hiro. Just calm down and drink up, then we'll get off to work, and forget all about this, alright?"

"Alright." The red-head smiled.

* * *

Several hours later, after getting caught in traffic, Hiro pulled up in front of the building on his motorbike, and instead of being able to forget about his problems, he was swarmed by reporters. There were always a few outside the studio, but this was ridiculous.

"Mr Nakano, who is the _Mystery Blonde_?" he was expecting that one.

"Can you tell us about the latest development with Mr Shindo and Mr Yuki?" he was asked that every morning.

"When is Bad Luck's new single being released?" that was yet another typical question.

"Are you sleeping with your manager?" it took all of Hiro's self control not to stop and punch that guy in the face.

"Mr Nakano." Tohma Seguchi stood in the doorway. "You're late." Hiro smiled apologetically at his boss. "The others are already in the studio." They went inside, and Tohma walked him up the stairs. "We had a job getting everyone in today. Aside from the usual issues, you seem to have caused quite a stir."

"Excuse me, sir?" Hiro blinked as he grabbed another coffee from the machine, and offered Tohma one. The N-G producer declined.

"Eiri dropped Shindo off himself, and threatened half the crowd away. I had to bring Suguru in with me to avoid the reporters. Mr Sakano just came in without hassle. Mr K had to actually get an SS contact to air-drop him in." Hiro looked down at him in amazement.

"You aren't serious?" he exclaimed.

"Actually, yes." They got into the elevator, and pressed the button for the third floor. "Shindo and Eiri are old news. None of the other bands are providing any decent scoops, so they decided to play with you. I don't know if the rumour about you is true, and I don't expect you to tell me, but you should know that they won't let this drop without a satisfying conclusion."

The elevator door opened, and Hiro stepped out. Tohma followed him.

"Mr Seguchi, I really don't understand why these people are making such a fuss."

"Really? An attractive young man like you; and you don't understand why the country's women are going berserk about seeing you with a partner?" Seguchi laughed. Hiro shook his head dubiously.

"I don't know, Mr Seguchi…I'm not that interesting."

"HIRO!!!!!" Shuichi threw himself out the door, hugging his friend. "You took a long time getting here, what happened? Are all those reporters here for you? Yuki tried to hit some guy because he said something about you and K. What's going on?"

"Get back in here, brat." Yuki's voice snapped.

"Eiri, what are you still doing here?" Tohma pushed the musicians into the room and smiled at his brother-in-law.

"Those bastard reporters staked out my Benz in the five minutes it took me to get Shuichi to the door. Short of smacking the lot of them up, there's nothing I can do but wait them out." The novelist took a drag on his cigarette. "I hate being stuck here, but I have my laptop, so I guess I can get some work done." He settled down at the table, next to Sakano, and started typing. K was on the other side of Sakano, polishing his gun, a nervous set to his jaw. Hiro wondered briefly if anyone noticed.

"Ok, you lot, get working." The American ordered, and the speed with which everyone obeyed indicated that yes, they had noticed.

* * *

The day passed smoothly. They all made a decent effort with the practice, but for different reasons – Hiro to forget the news article, Shuichi to impress Yuki, and Fujisaki simply because he wanted to get as much work done as possible.

Lunch was spent with the band in the studio. K called for Chinese take-out. As they stayed in the studio, they could relax. Tohma ate with them, and no-one said anything about it, but Fujisaki was happy to spend more time with his cousin. Yuki scooped Shuichi into his lap and wrapped his arms around the singer's waist, occasionally feeding him from his own plate. Hiro had to admit, it was cute, if a little out of character. They finished the meal, and Shuichi turned to his friend.

"Hiro, I know it's probably none of my business, and you can tell me to shut up, or go away, or whatever, but what are those reporters here about?" Shuichi never read the news, and Yuki threatened his way through the crowd before the reporters could say anything. The singer had no idea what was going on.

"It's nothing, really, Shuichi." Hiro sighed. "Just some stupid photographs the press think are a good story."

"Oh?" the singer looked interested.

"Oh for goodness sake…" he sighed "anyone got a newspaper for the idiot?" Tohma passed Shuichi a copy.

Fujisaki leant over his shoulder to see. They glanced at Hiro, then back down at the photograph, then back at Hiro.

"Nice…" Fujisaki murmured. Suddenly he frowned, his mouth falling open. "Good grief, Nakano! Is that…" his eyes flicked towards the window, where K was leaning against the frame, looking out over the city.

"Yeah…" Hiro licked his lips uncertainly. He still wasn't sure he was ready for them to know, but he had to trust someone and who better than his band? Shuichi followed his eyes, and then looked down at the paper, blushing slightly.

"Hiro, I thought…" the singer looked at his friend in confusion. "You and…" K turned, and frowned at Shuichi. Yuki's arms tightened around his waist protectively.

"So what?" the American snapped. "Hiro defended you, the least you can do is the same for him."

"Don't blame Shuichi." Yuki warned.

"No, Mr Yuki." K cut him off. "You and I have had dealings before, and you know how seriously I take my band. I went to a lot of trouble for you and Shindo, so just think how serious I am about Hiro."

"K, don't." Hiro reached out, and the blond went to him.

"I thought you didn't want people to know."

"I don't, but I need…look, we can have this conversation later, ok?" Hiro sighed, rubbing his temples. Tohma looked thoughtful.

"So you really are seeing each other. The press would have a field day." He chuckled.

"Tohma! That's cruel." Fujisaki poked him lightly. "Besides, you know they're a pretty pair. Just look at that ass…" he eyed Hiro flirtatiously, and then cringed slightly as K levelled his gun at him. "I'm sorry: it was a joke, a joke, that's all!"

"It better have been." K muttered angrily.

"K…" Tohma warned.

"I know, I know…no shooting the talent…" the blond grumbled. The others looked at him.

"What?" Shuichi looked excited. Maybe he had a way out of getting shot at every morning!

"Nothing…" Tohma glossed. "Does anyone want more tea?" Sakano threw himself at the musician.

"Producer! You shouldn't be doing such menial chores for us, your employees!" the man fussed. Tohma smiled and batted his hands away from the teapot.

"It's fine, Sakano, I'm perfectly capable, and I think it's time I did something for you guys once in a while, right?" the members of Bad Luck shrugged, staying out of it. Yuki smirked evilly.

"How about you make your famous pasta for them? A dinner party for your star employees?" Tohma glared at his brother-in-law. "I'll come and help out. Mika and Tatsuha too, like an extended-family-get-together, huh, _brother_?" the producer sighed. The emphasis on the last word was unmistakable.

"That's the first time you've called me that since I married Mika." He shook his head. "Alright, is everyone free on Monday?" a quick head count said yes, they were. A couple of rapid-fire phone calls had Mika in tears that her husband was making an effort with a social life, and Tatsuha squealing for joy when they made an impromptu decision to add Ryuichi and Noriko to the guest list.

"This could be a mistake." Seguchi sighed, rubbing his temples. "We could have serious problems here…"

"Nah." Hiro shrugged. "Short of the reporters tapping the phone lines, I think we'll be ok." There was a knock at the studio door. "Come in!" A man stuck his head around the door.

"Excuse me, I was told that Mr Seguchi was in here…"

"Yes?" Tohma turned and smiled him. "How can I help you?"

"We've had a slight issue with security and the reporters. It seems one network has made an attempt to tap the phone lines-" everyone in the room looked at each other, and started laughing. The porter watched in amazement as Tohma Seguchi grabbed Hiro, pulled him into a headlock, and messed up his hair.

"Nice going, psychic!" the blond chuckled, releasing the guitarist. He turned to the employee. "Thank you for the information, they will be dealt with shortly." The man nodded and left, in shock of seeing the usually aloof boss playing around on the floor with the others.

"Alright, I'll deal with the reporters." K headed for the door, catching Hiro's lips along the way. Shuichi grinned manically.

* * *

**More to come!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author note: Sorry it took a while, but I got writer's block, then the inspiration for "Blame the Writer" hit me, and I had to write that. You know how it goes... *offers cookies as consolation for long wait and the fact that it's sorta short*  
Warning: So much fluff you could drown in it, especially at the end of this chapter. MAybe some smut later on, but we'll have to see.  
Pair: Hiro and K  
Disclaimer: If I owned Gravi, I'd be Japanese and awesome, and the Remixes would have been in the original series ^_^;  
**

* * *

Hiro smiled and headed for the door, humming as he went. He and K had been together for two months, and things couldn't be better. The guitarist went through a few verses, then chuckled. Of all the songs to be singing, it had to be some random American thing Michael had been singing in the shower that morning, so it was in English. K had translated for him though, and the lyrics seemed to fit Bad Luck, and himself in particular. Maybe he could ask the others if they wanted to cover it…

It promised to be a good day. Security had removed the reporters from the front of the N-G building, so Hiro was able to get in without being harassed. Sakano was relatively calm and hadn't freaked out when Hiro had arrived a few minutes late. K caught him in the corridor outside the studio and insisted on a make-out session before he could leave and get some work done. Shuichi was his usual hyperactive self, and the singer was bickering with Fujisaki again, but it was light-hearted, and the keyboardist had only threatened to quit twice. Hiro grinned. Yup, it was gonna be a good day.

The day passed as smoothly as Hiro hoped, and before he knew it, they were sitting in Tohma's dining room to a Tohma-cooked meal. No-one was sure that it was safe to eat, until Yuki started eating rapidly, which more or less gave the all-clear.

Shuichi and Ryuichi kept each other occupied for most of the night, so it was relatively calm.

Noriko had had to cancel at the last minute, something about her husband being ill – and considering his age it would be a bad idea to ignore it.

Mika was thrilled to have the company, but she couldn't help but tease the boys. Tohma kept his flirting with Yuki to a bare minimum, under the watchful eye of his wife.

Yuki kept a close eye on Ryuichi, making sure that the singer didn't get any funny ideas about jumping Shuichi while the others weren't looking, and that Tatsuha didn't get any ideas about jumping Ryuichi.

Sakano was in nervous convulsions after Tohma had to threaten him into sitting down and relaxing while he and Yuki cooked dinner, much to Suguru's amusement.

Hiro was surprised to see his younger band mate watching Tatsuha with an all too familiar look in his eyes.

K just relished the chance to relax – he even left his gun at home. This action was extremely rare, but not entirely unknown, and he would have given anything for it to have gone on forever, or at least, longer than it did.

This was exactly three hours, forty four minutes.

K's phone rang. He checked the number, blinked, stared at it, looked away, checked again, blinked, and finally answered.

"Sir?" the single word got everyone's attention and they all went quiet to listen. There wasn't much to listen to, however, as after a single "yes sir", K hung up. He turned to Hiro, and licked his lips, a nervous gesture. "Hiroshi, I need a word outside." The guitarist followed him out onto the balcony, a little worried.

"K, what's wrong?" the redhead asked, leaning back against the railing. His blond lover paced anxiously, but then faced him directly.

"Hiro, I have to go away for a while."

"What?" Hiro pushed himself forward a little. "What do you mean? Where to?" K shook his head sadly.

"I can't tell you, baby. It's a throwback form the old days." Hiro nodded, understanding. K had told him about his days in the SS. "All I can say is that we messed things up on something, and I have to go and fix it."

"So," Hiro bit his lip, looking down, "how long will you be gone?"

"As long as it takes." Hiro looked up, eyes filled with tears. K took him in his arms, cradling his red haired lover gently. "I'm so sorry; I didn't expect this to happen. When I left, I was told that unless something like this came up, I would be left alone. It saves having to tell more people about sensitive issues than is really necessary if they can call back the original team."

"I know you have to go, but I wish you wouldn't." Hiro buried his face in K's shoulder."I know." the American sighed heavily. "I do too." He tilted Hiro's face up to kiss him softly. "I'll make you a deal, ok?" Hiro frowned.

"A deal?"

"Yeah, a deal." K smiled. "I'll try and make this as quick as possible, and you work really hard with the band, ok?" Hiro grinned and agreed. "And as a reward for us both, when I get back, we'll go out on a date." Seeing Hiro's sceptical face, K chuckled. "No, really. A real date: a nice, quiet, romantic evening, candles and everything."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author note: I am sooooo sorry it's takenso long - I got distracted by college, and exams, and other series (I kid you not, I've actually finished an entire Kuroshitsuji fanfic which will be posted on day). I will finish this fic one day, I promise. Also, sorry it's so short.  
Warning: Contains a distinct shonen tilt. Dont like? Dont read.  
Pair: Hiro and K  
Disclaimer: Do i look like Maki Murakami? No, I didn't think so.**

* * *

Hiro kept his promise, and worked as hard as he could. Everyone could tell he was putting in an extra effort, and the redhead's enthusiasm seemed to be infectious. Shuichi was so energised by his friend that he pulled one of his by now infamous spontaneous announcements on one of their interviews: Bad Luck was releasing a new album.

Suguru tried to kill him for that one, while Hiro spent almost twenty minutes calming Mr Sakano down. As it was Shuichi who made the announcement, they had to go through with it.

"Had it been from anyone else, we could have backed out, said it was a mistake, but nooooo…" Fujisaki's rantings continued for the next few weeks.

Naturally, Shuichi went into a writing craze, and filled up an entire notepad with ideas and lyrics. Only about half of it was any good, a surprisingly high rate for Shuichi's first attempts at songs, but the other half sent him spiralling into a minor depression, which lasted less two days, until Yuki, frustrated at the all noise his lover was making around the apartment as he tried to get past his songwriters block, firmly took the pen out of his hand and in less two minutes wrote a song for him. The fact that Yuki had actually done it to shut him up didn't bother Shuichi, and he went straight back into hyper mode.

A month passed, but Hiro was fine – he wasn't as dependant as Shuichi, and he knew that K would be back when he could. He just had to wait, so he did so patiently, knowing that stressing out wouldn't make the time go faster. The album was half completed, and comprised of songs written by the band, the writing aids in the N-G corporation (e.g. the helpful janitor who cleaned the studio), and that all important song from Yuki.

Hiro pushed his front door open, scooping up the massive pile of mail as he did so. He dumped his jacket on the arm of the chair, and started sifting through the letters.

"Bill, bill, fan mail, postcard from Yuuji," begging for a loan, no doubt "fan mail, bill, fan mail package – probably underwear," he hoped they were clean, at least "airmail, bill, fan ma- what? Airmail? K!" he dropped the others, and tore the letter open. His eager eyes scanned it, then reread it, slower, losing their brightness as they went. The paper dropped from his fingers a Hiro's knees gave way. He stared at the letter, then lay on the floor and curled into a ball, tears dripping down his cheeks.

"Oh, Claude…"

"Where is he? Hiro's never late, something's happened." Shuichi fretted. Suguru and Yuki exchanged exasperated looks. Bad Luck had agreed to meet up for drinks, and Shuichi had forced his lover to come along, claiming that the blond spent more time in the house working than anywhere else. True as it may have been, it didn't bother Yuki, but Shuichi had insisted, and all of his work was finished anyway…

"Shuichi, if you're so worried; let's just go check on him." Fujisaki pointed out. "His apartment is only a couple of blocks away." Shuichi's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and bounced down the street, the others following resignedly.

It took less than five minutes to get to the apartment block, but Hiro didn't open the door when they knocked. After a minute or so of waiting, Shuichi just let himself in.

"Hiro?" he called. No reply. Looking nervous, the singer headed into the lounge, where his gaze instantly found the figure of his friend curled on the floor, letter lying by his head. Hiro showed no signs of having seen or heard them.

Yuki sighed and leant against the doorframe, lighting up a cigarette. He shook his head, sadly, recognising the stationary. He nodded to it, and Shuichi picked it up, reading quickly.

He thrust it suddenly at Fujisaki, who nearly dropped it. Shuichi knelt next to Hiro, tugging the redhead into his arms and cradling him, allowing the guitarist to cry into his shirt.

Suguru scanned the note, then leant back against the wall, crying.

Yuki blew out a stream of smoke, shaken. They all knew that when K accepted the recap mission, this could happen, but they never expected it to. The idea of never seeing the crazy American again had seemed so far away, but now it was a reality.

* * *

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author note: HOLY FUCKING FUCK IT'S AN UPDATE! Yeah, you read that right, guys! I'm back in business, at least for another chapter or so! It's been like... ugh, literally years, but finally, I've worked out my stupid. I can only apologise that I ran out of steam at such a horrible point, but believe me when I say there is a happy ending. I don't DO depressing endings. I just don't.****  
****Warning: Contains a distinct shonen tilt. Don't like? Don't read.****  
****Pair: Hiro and K****  
****Disclaimer: I'm still not Maki Murakami, even after all these years. **

* * *

"Hiro, you gotta get out of the house." Shuichi pleaded. The guitarist flicked ash from his cigarette, refusing to meet his friend's worried gaze.

"I do get out of the house, Shu. I come to work, don't I?" he reached for the can of beer by his feet, but Shuichi moved it away, earning a look from Hiro – the first time the redhead had met his eyes in days. In the two months since they had lost K, not a day had gone by that he hadn't cried, and thrown himself even further into NG and Bad Luck. Shuichi and the others were worried that he was pushing it too hard, but what did they know? He turned down almost every invite out, and went home every night alone: he was entitled to something real.

"That's not what I mean!" the singer threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "All you do is mope in the house, or work. It's not healthy, Hiro. Come out tonight, with me and Fujisaki." Grey eyes softened slightly with consideration. "Suguru doesn't say anything – you know what he's like – but he misses you, just like I do."

"I don't know, I want-"

"Hiroshi." Yuki cut in. "He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. It's been two months. You need to live your own life, not sit about hoping it's all a mistake. Believe me, I've done it." Hiro sighed.

"You're right." He admitted. "And I know you're right. Claude would kill me himself if he knew I was doing this, but I just don't have the motivation to get up and do anything. It's so much effort just to get out of bed in the morning, you wouldn't believe it. I know it's not right, and I know it's not healthy, but I just..." Yuki patted him on the arm.

"Look, I don't know if Shuichi's mentioned something about this, but I've been seeing this woman for the last few years." He handed over his psychiatrist's business card. "She's helped a lot. Maybe you could give her a call?" Hiro took the card doubtfully. "You don't have to, but it's just another option. Someone to talk to who isn't involved. What you'll tell us is different to what you'll tell her, because you don't want Shuichi to worry about you. Sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger." Hiro nodded briefly.

"I'll think about it. Maybe I'll call her later." Shuichi perked up, pleased that his friend was finally making something vaguely resembling an effort.

"Thanks Hiro." The guitartist looked up at his worried friend, and forced a smile onto his face.

"You know what? Maybe I will come out with you guys tonight." He glanced down at the card in his hand. "I'll make an appointment later." Shuichi's smile was blinding.

* * *

It took time, more than Hiro was willing to admit to himself, but he did eventually call the therapist.

Okay, it took another two weeks from getting the number for him to call, and Shuichi bugged him to do it every evening after work until he actually did.

He explained his situation, and she made him an appointment. Hiro was forced to admit that she _was_ helping him put everything in perspective – yes, he'd suffered a loss, but he didn't have to let that loss define him. At her recommendation, he started seeing a lot of Michael, even convincing Judy to let him babysit on their frequent trips to Japan. Spending time with K's son helped Hiro deal with his own grief, and supported the boy he'd become so close to while he and K were together.

It had now been six months since he'd received the letter.

He was getting better, more willing to go out and do things – he even went out with Shuichi a few times to a local cafe. They avoided bars, on principle, after those first two months, when Hiro had started drinking more and more and smoking like a chimney, but every now and then wouldn't hurt.

He even found himself laughing and joking with the guys at work now.

"Okay, I wanted to make this a surprise, but Fujisaki says it's a bad idea and I should talk to you first." Shuchi was babbling. Hiro tried to look as though he hadn't tuned out most of the blather that usually came out of his best friend's mouth. Fujisaki rolled his eyes and elbowed the singer.

"Get on with it; we're not getting any younger here." Shuichi scowled at him, but it was good-natured enough. They hadn't properly fought in a long time.

"Dunno, kid, you might be." Hiro quipped. The sixteen year old stuck his tongue out at him childishly.

"As I was saying!" Shuchi drew their attention back to the subject at hand. "I think that this album we're doing should be dedicated to K." Hiro dropped his pick.

"What?"

"I dunno, I just think we should. I mean... we all know that a good half of the songs on there are covers of stuff he and Michael listened to, so to me... it only seem right, you know? The album wouldn't be happening at all if it wasn't for him, so I'd probably have suggested some kind of mention to him anyway, but now-"

"Let's do it." Hiro cut him off. "Michael will love it." He stood and stretched, then playfully yanked them both into a headlock, one under each arm, taking advantage of his superior height and reach. "Claude would have pissed himself laughing at your god-awful English though, Shu!"

"Hey! Like he was ever any better at Japanese!"

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**To be continued, slowly but surely!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author note: And another one! I'm on a roll! For anyone who didn't notice, there's another new chapter before this one. Read that before you read this!****  
****Warning: Contains a distinct shonen tilt. Don't like? Don't read.**  
**Pair: Hiro and K**  
**Disclaimer: If I owned Gravitation, the series would probably never get around to ending. Mind you...our update patterns aren't too dissimilar...**

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The club was full, and Hiro was watching passively as Shuichi went into hyperactive mode. He was glad the singer was fired up, but he couldn't quite get in the mood for the concert himself. Suguru sat next to him, watching as the red-head tuned his guitar.

"This is the one, Hiro." The keyboardist patted his arm. "We finally made it." Hiro nodded tightly.

There was no warm up, no 'beer snack' band, just Bad Luck. Hiro and Suguru set up quietly as Shuichi moved to the front of the stage with a microphone.

"Hey guys!" he called. The audience cheered and he waved for silence. "I know you all came expecting an amazing concert, and you'll get one, but this is gonna be a little different." The hall was quiet. "As you all probably know, we recently lost a much loved member of our team: our manager, K. This gig is dedicated to him, as is the new album."

Hiro bit his lip as the video screen behind them started a slideshow of photos of K: band photos, images of K with Bad Luck from publicity shots and frames from the security cameras in their studio (cameras they didn't know existed until Tohma had donated the images); personal pictures of days out they'd all had together, collected from their own albums; and one or two from his army days which had been donated by Ark. The sight of the American, blond hair pulled into a high ponytail, dressed in black and carrying several weapons, but sticking his tongue out and shooting a peace sign at the camera, made more than a few of the audience laugh. Hiro almost broke down then.

Shuichi smiled slightly and handed the microphone to Suguru, setting up an expectant murmur. Up until now, he'd been nearly silent on stage, speaking only to the other members of the band. Aside from the infamous press conference when Hiro had almost left and Suguru had ended up screaming furiously at Shuichi, overturning the table and knocking over several reporters until Hiro had arrived and put a stop to the keyboardist's rampage, the public had hardly ever heard his voice.

"Hi, I know I'm usually pretty quiet, but this is a special occasion." He took a deep breath. "I don't know how many people know this, but I was never an original member of Bad Luck. I was added to the line up later on, just after the band's debut. It was K who finally settled me into the group, mainly because he wouldn't let me leave." A photo of K holding a sobbing Suguru at gunpoint appeared, making everyone laugh. Hiro choked on a sob, and Shuichi patted his arm comfortingly. "This band is like our family, and to each of us, K was a friend, a father, and a lover, as we each needed him to be."

The concert hall was filled with a low muttering again. Lover? Hiro took the mike, as a photo of him, K and Michael flashed onto the screen. Hiro bit his lip. It was the photograph from their coffee table. After swallowing back more tears, he stepped forward.

"None of you are really aware of this, but K and I were dating for three months before he...um..." a tear escaped and trickled down his cheek, but went unnoticed in the general murmuring. "K was my best friend outside of the band, my soul mate, and my lover. We had just moved in together. Ever since we got to know each other, even before we started dating, we supported each other through ups and downs, from my family squabbles, to his divorce. I'll always remember every day he was with us, but the first time we met will always stand out in my mind, if only because we were all scared shitless by this crazy American holding us a gunpoint." More laughter. "K wouldn't want us to mourn him; he'd want us to _celebrate_ his life. And _that's_ what this album is about."

American Idiot.

It's My Life.

Summer of '69.

Crazy, Crazy Nights.

Hiro cried as he played the older, rockish songs that K had loved, even with Shuichi butchering the English, or Yuki having already translated them to Japanese. They weren't quite the usual sounds Bad Luck went with, and some of the others they played were old fan favourites, or new ones from the album more like their usual techno songs.

Living on a Prayer.

Hiro was so engrossed in his playing, in the music he and his lover and his lover's son had sung and danced to in their kitchen, that he didn't notice the ruckus amongst the security team, or the slight falter in Shuichi's vocals.

He didn't even really register the tall figure in the scruffy coat and hat climbing onto the stage not four feet from him.

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**TBC**


End file.
